After decades in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the United Kingdom’s former ambassador to Ankara, Sir Peter Westmacott, has chosen to share with a wider audience his observations and anecdotes gleaned during his 40-year career. Westmacott’s book, “They Call It Diplomacy: 40 Years of Representing Britain Abroad,” questions the functionality of diplomacy at a
After 35 hours of heated debate, “The law for strengthening Republican values” was adopted by the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French parliament, last week. Although there is no mention of either Islam or Muslim anywhere in the text, it is no secret that the real purpose of the law is to combat
It would be appropriate to start this article with a question: “How much does biodiversity contribute to the economy?” Ecologists and economists have sought answers to such questions for decades. Governments of the developing countries, in particular, put forward their answers from different perspectives. Are they successful? My answer is no; because it was environmental
If political parties, especially those in power, feel the need to take a defensive position on more issues, it points out that something is wrong not only in the country’s conditions but also within the party. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) delegates in Istanbul elected Osman Nuri Kabaktepe as the provincial head on
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on February 25 that Turkey considers the Armenian military push to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a “coup attempt” and condemns it. “We are against coups or coup attempts wherever in the world,” Çavuşoğlu said during a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Budapest. Earlier in
Turkey’s long-term supply contracts, accounting for a third of gas imports will expire this year making 2021 a critical one for the country’s short to mid-term energy strategies. The so-called “Western pipeline,” the very first pipeline to bring Russian gas to Turkey starting from 1997, is about to get “retired,” and some of the contracts
Diplomacy is the promotion of the national interest by peaceful means, contends, Hans J. Morgenthau, the father of classical realism in international relations. If the foreign office is the brain where foreign policy is formulated, diplomatic representatives are its eyes, ears and mouth – and even its fingertips. Tasked with representing their countries in foreign
The recent history of the Turkish-Israeli relationship amounts to unnecessary bickering despite a clear convergence of interests. Contrary to popular belief in such critical institutions as U.S. Congress, the interests of both countries are strongly aligned but ideological disagreements in combination with bad luck and short-sighted populist policies on both sides are responsible for a
The U.S. has expelled Turkey from the F-35 program, despite it was a production partner, and seized eight of its already purchased jets in retaliation to Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems. Former U.S. Donald Trump, who Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan “my friend,” even introduced sanctions on the Turkish Defense Industry Presidency (SSB). Upon
The NATO Defense Ministers meeting on Feb. 17 and 18 was crucial in terms of Turkey’s relations with the West. Turkey’s expel from the F-35 fighter jet program by the U.S. and seizure of jets it has already paid for in retaliation for its purchase of S-400 missile systems from Russia was a common defense